Half-Life: Security Breach
by Pantsman76
Summary: Ben Wallace is a security guard at Black Mesa during the Resonance Cascade. Amid the chaos created by the incident, a psychologically damaged Ben must fight his way to his family and save them from their impending doom. More chapters will be added over time. Also, I would really appreciate it if you left a review.
1. One Shift,Two Shift,Red Shift,Blue Shift

HALF-LIFE

SECURITY BREACH

The job of a Black Mesa Security Officer excelled in two areas: mundaneness and routineness, both of which were things that Officer Ben Wallace was fond of. A 36-year-old white male with brown hair and brown eyes, Ben was about as boring of a man as you could possibly meet. It wasn't that you couldn't hold an enjoyable conversation with him, but he was just too darn normal. He had a wife and a son that lived with him in the Black Mesa dormitories, and he did his job to the best of his ability. At the end of his shift he would go home, visit with his family, go to bed, and wake up to repeat the same boring cycle. He didn't have any close friends. He just made small talk with his co-workers throughout the day.

Ben sat in the lunch room and finished a steaming hot cup of coffee. It was 8:30 and his day was just beginning. Ben worked the "Blue" shift that went from 9:00-22:00. He stood up, wiped his thick mustache and mouth with a paper towel, and proceeded to place his mug by the sink. Just then, Officer Crusoe poked his head into the nearly empty lunch room.

"Hey Wallace, they need another body at the Training Facility in Sector A. One of their guys called in sick a few minutes ago and L.M. wants a full staff there. You mind switching to Red shift for a day?" said Crusoe.

"Yeah, sure, I'll head down there right away," said Ben, strapping his dark blue helmet back onto his head.

Although he didn't show it, Ben was a little annoyed. Not because he had to be relocated, but because getting to another Sector could be a long, drawn out process. Regardless, it didn't bother him too much. He had already been equipped that morning, so he headed out to the tram site immediately, preparing for the relatively long ride ahead.


	2. First Encounter

The Black Mesa Announcement System rambled on about useless things as the tram moved forward at what seemed like a snail's pace. Ben sat back in one of the chairs, attempting not to fall asleep. After a few close calls, he stood back up and leaned on the railing. He placed his hand on his Glock 9mm. Ben had always hoped he would never have to use the weapon, but he was proficient on the shooting range, and many of his co-workers had always praised him for his marksmanship. Ben had also given the Colt Python a try at the range, too, and he preferred that over the Glock. He felt that if he ever actually had to pull his sidearm, power would be a necessity to him.

The tram reminded Ben of the upcoming Black Mesa Training Facility Decathlon before the voice was abruptly cut off and the tram came to a complete stop in the middle of the tunnel. Ben didn't panic. He assumed it was just a small problem. The tram would probably start back up in a couple seconds. A couple seconds quickly turned into five minutes and Ben began to start worrying. He had overheard many scientists talking this morning about how many systems seemed to be failing today. This could be a big problem. He couldn't be stuck up here all day. He had a shift to get to! Ben sat down and tried not to jump to conclusions. Maybe now, he thought, would be a good time to get that nap in.

After a few more minutes, Ben was suddenly awakened by a large boom that shook the tram. Ben was brought to the floor by the rumbling. He quickly stood back up. He now had no doubt that something was wrong. Ben looked through the window in the back of the tram. There was a platform with an unlocked door. Ben decided his best bet was to get through that door. Ben slid open the emergency exit and jumped down to the ground. As he inched to the ladder that led up to the platform, the tunnel quaked once again, sending Ben back onto the floor. Ben began to run towards the ladder intent on finding out just what was going on. He darted up the rusty ladder and bolted towards the automatic door, stopping in front of it. Behind it Ben could hear what he assumed were screams and wails. Mentally preparing to find out what was inside, Ben walked closer to the door.

As it opened before him, he saw a Security Officer lying over the edge his desk. In his neck was a piece of metal which Ben could only assume had come from a terminal behind the window that appeared to have exploded. The officers arms dangled over the edge, and the blood pouring from his neck formed a river in the dark hallway. Ben tried not to vomit as the potent smell of death poured into his nostrils. Ben unclipped his holster and pulled out his Glock. He began treading carefully, step by step, down the dark hallway. Ben spotted a scientist sitting in the corner, head buried in his hands. Ben wanted to find out what was going on.

"Hey, buddy, do you have any idea what happened," asked Ben.

"It took him over," mumbled the scientist. "It ate him. It killed him!"

Ben was unsettled. He began to worry. "What are you talking about?" he asked.

"They're going to kill us all!" the scientist yelled. He quickly jumped up and ran away into the smoke of the hallway.

Ben chased after him. "Come back!" he yelled in vain.

His call was matched by a high-pitched shriek. Ben came to a stop in front of the screen of smoke that separated him and the scientist. Suddenly, there was a long, blood-curdling scream of pain and agony. An object came through the smoke and hit Ben in the chest. Ben observed the spot that the object had hit and felt a wet spot on his armor vest. He then looked at the object that had hit him- a human forearm. Ben couldn't control himself this time. He vomited on the floor. The screaming and crying from the other side came to sudden halt with the sound of a slice.

Ben cried. He didn't want to face what was on the other side of the smoke. He wanted to leave Black Mesa. He wanted to take his family and get out. He wanted to forget all about this experience. He didn't want to venture any further. But he had a duty. As his tears mixed with the blood on the ground, he stepped forward, his pistol ready to fire. Passing through the smoke and into the room that connected the stairwell to this sector's labs, Ben looked to his right. This room was lit, unlike the hallway, allowing Ben to observe in full detail the dead body of the scientist. Blood from his arm trickled down into a puddle, and his head had three large lacerations, one of which separated his jaw from the rest of his skull. Ben threw up again.

From his left, Ben heard a groaning. He quickly spun around, only to see the monster that had done this. It was like some kind of zombie, but it had something on it's head. It was once a scientist, Ben could tell from the lab coat that it wore, but whatever it was that resided on it's head had reduced it to a nearly skeletal figure with long claws. Most of the creature's internal organs were exposed. As it eerily hobbled toward Ben, he realized he didn't have time to observe it for much longer. He aimed his Glock at the creature's head and squeezed off a round. The creature sort of flinched, but kept shuffling toward him. He then began firing at the creature's head as many times as he could. The creature eventually slumped to the ground, presumably dead.

Ben sat down on the ground, out of breath, and about to feint. He just sat and breathed. As he began to regain his strength, he slowly stood up.

"Hey, Ben!"

Ben spun around with the intent to shoot, but at the bottom of the stairs was none other than Officer Crusoe


	3. Unforeseen Consequences

"What happened, Crusoe," yelled Ben.

"I don't know, man, but I heard the scientists saying it had something to do with the experiment in Anomalous Materials," said Crusoe.

"Is this sort of thing happening throughout the entire facility?" asked Ben.

"I don't know. I mean, I don't think so. Maybe. Let's just get out of this sector," said Crusoe, who had already proceeded up the stairs at this point.

Ben looked at the door on his left. The label said SECTOR C: TEST LABS.

"Well if that's where it started, then we're going to want to head a different direction," said Ben, staring at the door in terror.

"Ben, we've been through the only other two ways from here. Let's head through there and see if we can't make our way to Sector B. We can see if this is happening over there, too," said Crusoe. He was fully aware that Ben didn't want to go through there. Then again, neither did he.

"Alright, I'll take point," Ben said as he raised his pistol and began lightly stepping toward the automatic door.

The door slid open with a hiss, as it usually did. Except this time, it was followed by a crack. The guards cautiously stepped inside and into the dark, red hallway. Screams of pain were followed moans and wails that echoed ominously throughout the Sector. Treading down the hallway at a snail's pace, the duo finally reached the end. Ben swiftly rotated around the edge, spotting another zombie-like creature in his sights. This one, however, was lying against the wall in a puddle of an ungodly amount of blood. Ben would have vomited again, but anything he had eaten in the past 24 hours had already left his body.

Ben looked behind him to observe Crusoe with the same reaction. They moved forward, intending to venture further down the hallway where darkened offices were lit by flames from shattered supercomputers and other machines. Behind him, Ben heard a slow, blood-curdled growl. The zombie that had once appeared dead stood up behind Crusoe, preparing to attack.

Ben yelled, "Crusoe, look out!" as he tried to shoot the creature.

It sliced Crusoe's torso, sending him to the ground in pain. Startled, Ben failed to kill the creature as it began clawing into Crusoe's body. Ben could do nothing but watch in horror as the zombie dug into Crusoe as a dog digs a hole to bury his bone. Horrifying screams of terror and anguish rang through the air along with blood and pieces of flesh. With one last round before reloading, Ben gained the strength to end the suffering of Crusoe. He never had learned his first name.

As the squeals of pain abruptly ended with the sound of a gunshot, Ben reloaded his Glock, shoved the barrel into the crab-like head of the zombie, and blasted away. The creature slumped down to the ground and onto what had once been Crusoe's body. Ben dropped his gun to his side and stared at the revolting sight. He felt lifeless as the weapon slipped from his fingers and onto the cold tile. He stumbled backwards and sat against the wall, overwhelmed. He didn't know what to do. Traumatized, he didn't cry, he didn't vomit, and he didn't scream. He just sat and stared at the ground, helpless and alone. That was, until a gloved hand reached down to help him up. Ben looked up into the seemingly glowing green eyes of a man in an orange HEV suit.

"Who are you?" Ben asked.

The man laid down the crowbar he was carrying as he grabbed Crusoe's spare pistol magazines.

Without looking at Ben, he uttered his name: "Freeman."


	4. Q & A

The man in the HEV suit placed the magazines into a compartment on his suit. He then eyed the pistol that Ben had dropped, and looked at him. Ben guessed this was Freeman's way of telling him to pick up his pistol. He did. He couldn't place his finger on it, but for some reason he felt obligated to obey this man. As his body slowly re-energized, he stared at Freeman. He knew he had seen him somewhere, but he couldn't remember where. That's when it hit him.

"You're from Anomalous Materials aren't you?" said Ben. Freeman shook his head as to say "Yes". "That would explain the suit." Suddenly, Ben realized what had happened, but he could never have guessed it would be this catastrophic. "It's because of a Resonance Cascade isn't it? All of this, I mean," Freeman nodded again.

His body revitalized, Ben stood back up. He grasped his pistol from the icy floor and pointed it at the floor, ready to raise it if to fire. He looked up to Freeman, who was now about to head back to the stairs from which Ben had just come.

"Wait!" Ben blurted. Freeman turned to look at him. After a short silence Ben asked: "This thing is happening throughout the whole facility, right?" Freeman nodded. Ben's thoughts went immediately to his family. Were they safe? Surely they were. Maybe they didn't know this was happening. If this thing really was throughout the whole facility, then he needed to get them out. A Resonance Cascade could not be contained. They would need to leave. And he was going to see it that they got out of that deathtrap unscathed. Heading in the opposite direction as Freeman, Ben took careful steps down the long hallway. This would be a long, challenging journey.


	5. Living Quarters Inbound

In order to reach his families dormitory, he would have to get topside. He had killed several more creatures on his way already, and the nervousness and sickness had passed. The feeling of confidence had slowly risen up inside of Ben's body by now. Although he didn't know what he was really confident about. Confident in his abilities? Confident he would survive? Confident he would find his family unharmed? He didn't know. Regardless, it made the grim expedition a little bit more bearable.

Other questions raced through Ben's mind as well. He had always been told that in the case of a facility-wide emergency, much like what was going on now, the Marine Corps would send a Special Operations group called the Hazardous Environment Combat Unit. The HECU would supposedly assist the Security forces in containing whatever the situation was. But where were they? Once the military got there, they could help Ben find his family, and they could leave.

Ben thought about a variety of things as he trekked down the passage originally meant for the transit system. The way Ben saw it, he didn't have time to wait for a tram, and that was if it was even working in the first place. The Cascade had caused most machines connected within the facility to fail. Of course, from what the scientists had been saying earlier, it seemed like a whole lot of things were failing before the incident. It seemed like it was just 'one of those days'. It obviously escalated into something much more serious within a matter of minutes.

From here, Ben could finally spot the end of the tunnel. The light from the top burned Ben's eyes as if he was looking at the sun on the brightest day of the year. This happened to Ben every time he got back to his dormitory. He inched forward as his eyes gradually adjusted to the blinding desert sun. Ben spotted a ladder up to the transit deck.

A feeling of anticipation grew inside of him as he neared the end of the ladder. It wouldn't be long before he would see his wife and son again. When he reached the top, he saw two aliens from the Borderworld. Ben didn't know what to call them. They were slightly humanoid, but only in that they stood on two legs and had a torso and head. They had green skin and a glowing red eye. Ben had encountered quite a few of them on the way here. They shot green lightning-type blasts from their hands. Ben had been lucky enough to not get hit by any, but the sight of these things using their powers was something to behold.

These two were facing away from Ben. He listened as they seemed to be _talking _to each other. It almost sounded like Hebrew. Ben decided not to give them a chance to notice him. Still hanging from the top of the ladder, Ben aimed his pistol and shot the alien on the right in the head three times killing it. The second one prepared it's lightning attack, which Ben promptly stopped by unloading on it. It, too, slumped to the ground in a similar fashion as the first. Ben pulled himself over the top and laid his eyes on the Area 8 Topside Dormitories.


End file.
